Info about Martinique

[Rene]

Hi,

Within a few days I will be going to Martinique for a Rhum holiday. I was supposed to go to Canada with my wife, but allas now I am going to Martinique on my own.

I want to visit everything that has got to do with Rhum production.

Can anyone give me as much details/information as possible?

I am gonna rent a car, so distances is no problem.

I will write down my experiences, and I will make loads of pictures. All can be found later on my website (www.rumpages.com) wich will be operational on agust 1st.

If any of you guys has an question that can be answered on this Island, please let me know. Perhaps I can find your answer. For sure I will try to find as much info about the productionproces of Rhum Agricole. My french is not so good, but I can always try.

Edited June 11, 2004 by Rene (log)

[Ed Hamilton]

Have a good trip to Martinique. As you have my book you have information on all of the producers. There are a few new private labels, Bernus, Courville and others, that aren't covered in my last book so here's a quick update.

Trois Rivieres is no longer distilled at their own distillery. La Mauny is now distilling it at their facility in Riviere Pilote. Duquesne is also distilled there.

The operating distilleries are

DePaz, St Pierre self guided tours,

Neisson, Carbet self guided tours

J.M, Distillerie Fond Preville - tasting tours, Macouba

St James, Sainte Marie tours rhum museum

La Favorite, Fort de France but it is actually east of town. self guided tours

Dillon, Fort de France wonderful tasting and view of distillery from a vantage point where you can see the whole process

LaMauny, Trois Rivieres, Dusquesne Riviere Pilote guided tours

Distillerie Simon, Baie de Simon distills Clemente, St Etienne, and a few others, no visitor tours.

If you can't find La Favorite on Yahoo maps or equivalent, let me know and I'll do some sketches. I've spent a lot of time looking for this one, and I've been there many times.

Enjoy Martinique and don't believe everything they tell you the first few times you visit a distillery.

Also taste the Dormoy punches, there is no facility tour but the flavors are some of the best in the Caribbean.

[Mickeman]

Hi Rene!

Would be grateful if you can get aswers to which destillery method (batch with potstills or colon still) each destillery uses, and if they use both of they have any bottlings that only contain potstill.

Looking forward to your descriptions and pictures.

Ed:

Why have Trois Rivieres ceased its own production, and when did it cease?

Has this something to do with the fire at Trois Rivieres some time ago?

[Ed Hamilton]

BBS, the company that owns La Mauny, Trois Rivieres and Duquesne has consolidated production at their Riviere Pilote facility and moved the other columns there, where they were already producing LaMauny. The costs of crushing cane, maintaining fermentation tanks etc are considerable and can be done all in one place.

The fire was at LaMauny's bottling plant and consumed much of their aged reserves.

As for pot stills in the French West Indies, only St James has one and they only produce a small amount of pot still rhum called coeur de chauffe.

Just as I tell people not to get hung up on the age of the rhum, don't get hung up on pot stills, in the hands of a skilled distiller a single column still can make remarkable spirits that will fool even some of the industry experts, like Joe Conquisti of Chicago who was one of the most experienced men of spirits that most of us will ever meet.